UNICEF´S report in 2013 and the israeli policy of detention of palestinian minors today

Abstract

The starting point of this work is UNICEF´s report in 2013 on the detention of Palestinian minors carried out by the Israeli military forces. The significance of this Report lies in the fact that it concludes with the proclamation that the ill-treatment suffered by Palestinian children during detention is a practice which appears to be “widespread, systematic and institutionalized throughout the process, from the moment of arrest until the child’s prosecution and eventual conviction and sentencing”2. We will study whether there have been relevant changes in the Israeli policy of detention of Palestinian minors since the UNICEF report, as well as Israel’s adherence to international human rights law and specifically the right to a fair trial. It is also interesting to examine whether Israel has taken the existence of a pandemic into account when practicing its detention policy in recent years.